


At First Glance (Version 1)

by anotherdiana



Category: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms, Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux, Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber
Genre: Completely one-sided, M/M, University AU, erik is a creepy weirdo, fanfic contest, phantastic homos, strong suggestions to future non-consensual sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-03-01 00:07:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2752232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotherdiana/pseuds/anotherdiana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the Phantastic Homos Fanfic Contest.<br/>From the first time Erik sees Raoul, to their first Christmas together.<br/>Version 1 is not cute. Erik is not a nice person. Bad things. Really bad things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At First Glance (Version 1)

There's a contest. Check it. [PhantasticHomos](http://phantastichomos.tumblr.com/)

* * *

 

 

He’s in Starbucks when he gets his first glimpse of the boy. The merry jingle of the bell over the door announces his arrival. He’s probably no older than nineteen, and he laughs brightly as he walks in, bringing a gust of icy air with him. He’s wearing a thick jumper in a terrible christmas-tree pattern, and he pulls off a knitted green hat, leaving a mess of tousled curls. His cheeks are flushed from the cold, and he’s laughing and joking with a girl. Erik is so fixated on the boy, that it takes him a moment to realise that the girl is Christine.

He knows Christine intimately. They had one class together last year, and they only spoke twice, but Erik watched her obsessively from the back of the classroom, and he’s still friends with her on Facebook. He watches her posts religiously.

But Christine fades into the background when she is stood next to this boy. Erik may be the moth to Christine’s flame, but if Christine is a flame, then this boy is a supernova. She cannot compete. It only takes one glance, and Erik is hooked.

The boy orders a Gingerbread Latte, and a lemon and poppyseed muffin. He plays with the sleeves of his jumper as he waits for his order, and drops a pound coin into the tip jar before he leaves with Christine.

Once they’ve gone, Erik opens Facebook on his laptop, and begins searching through Christine’s friends. He knows it’s a futile task. Christine has over two thousand Facebook friends, which is one of the reasons that Erik doesn’t need to worry about her unfriending him. She probably doesn’t even remember receiving his friend request over a year ago. She is not only extremely popular, but she is also part of every worthwhile society on campus, and she took part in a beauty pageant last year that took her to Europe and made her semi-famous for a month.

Erik trawls through her friends list for over an hour, but he’s no closer to finding out who the blond boy is. Either he doesn’t have Facebook, or his profile picture isn’t of him, and his privacy is set on private. It’s disheartening, but Erik is nothing if not determined.

He sits at the back of the same Starbucks at the same time every day for a fortnight, but he sees neither Christine, nor her mystery friend. Twice, Christine updates her location on Facebook, and he hurries to find her, but the blond boy isn’t with her either time. He makes himself scarce before she can notice him.

When he next sees the boy, he’s with Christine, and another of her friends, Meg. They’re on a picnic bench on the lawn in front of the university library, huddled together for warmth. It’s the last week of November, and the rain that has been almost constant is absent today. He can’t get close to them, it would look too strange for him to set up residence at the next picnic table, on his own, in the freezing cold. He lingers against the library wall until another girl joins them, and they leave, heading across campus.

Erik follows, at a distance, until they reach the Performing Arts block. Christine kisses the boy on the cheek, and as they head inside, Meg calls out ‘see you tomorrow, Raoul’.

Now that Erik has a name, it’s easier to find him. He is on Facebook, although his profile picture is of a muddy Labrador, rather than himself. His name is Raoul de Chagny, and he’s in his second year of Business Studies. And once Erik has a surname, it’s easy to search him on the university intranet, and work out his lesson plan.

On Tuesdays, Raoul finishes at half three. Erik is loitering outside the South Block, and sees him leave with several other boys, who walk with him to the bus stop, and then continue on without him. Raoul boards a 38 East.

Three days later, Christine changes her Facebook status to ‘In a relationship’ with Raoul de Chagny. Erik considers throwing his laptop through a window.

Tuesday rolls back around, and this time, Erik is already sitting on the bus when it pulls up to the university stop. Raoul gets on, and sits a few seats in front of him. When he gets off the bus, Erik follows.

A call to the landlord reveals that Raoul lives with two other boys (and no, the property isn’t for sale, sir, but thank you for your enquiry).

Erik walks past the house frequently, and he recognises one of the boys from his first year. The other takes mere minutes to find on Facebook.

December arrives, and Erik sends a Christmas card to Raoul’s house, although he doesn’t sign it.

Raoul and Christine start to frequent the Starbucks where Erik first saw them together. They hold hands and giggle like children. Raoul always pays for Christine’s drink, and they sit together on a sofa, or if the shop is particularly full, they squash into a single armchair. Christine runs her hands through Raoul’s hair, and Erik’s stomach churns, a dangerous anger filling his whole body.

He catches Raoul alone, at last, outside the South Block two weeks before Christmas. He bumps into him, and Raoul staggers backwards a few paces. Erik reaches out a hand to steady him, and Raoul looks directly at him. There’s no flash of understanding in his eyes, no instant spark. Raoul looks at him, and feels nothing. There is no love at first sight on Raoul’s part. They both mutter ‘sorry’, and go on their way. Their lives collided for one brief moment, and then they moved on. Raoul will forget. Erik won’t.

Both of Raoul’s housemates are going home for Christmas. Term ends on the 19th, so they’ll have both left by the following evening. Raoul is going nowhere. He has no parents to go home to, only a brother. The brother has a wife and children of his own, and although (of course) he’d love to have Raoul for Christmas, they’re going to visit the in-laws.

Meg’s mother is a teacher at the university, and she’s cooking for Meg, Christine and Raoul on Christmas Eve. Raoul will spend Christmas Day alone.

One week before Christmas, Raoul leaves his scarf under the table at Starbucks. Erik picks it up and takes it home with him. He spends the night inhaling Raoul’s scent from the soft wool.

Erik will spend Christmas alone, too.

On Christmas Eve, while Raoul is eating lunch at Meg’s mother’s house, Erik returns Raoul’s scarf. The lock on the back door would be easy to pick, but it is even easier to slide open the back window with the broken catch. Erik leaves the scarf folded neatly on the hall table, and then he takes some time to explore the house.

He spends longer in Raoul’s room than is wise, staring at the pictures tacked to the walls, mostly of Raoul and his friends. He touches all the trinkets on the shelves, opens cupboards and drawers, runs his hands over the bedspread, smoothing out the creases.

In the front room, he stops in front of the small tree with its meagre decorations. There are a few wrapped parcels under the tree. The labels tell him that they’re from Raoul’s brother, and his two housemates. Erik’s heart breaks at the thought of Raoul spending Christmas Day alone in this cold, depressing house.

When Raoul gets off the bus that evening, Erik is under a tree on the opposite side of the road.

Raoul’s head hangs low, and tears run down his cheeks faster than he can wipe them away. Christine has already changed her Facebook status to ‘single’, and Raoul is shaking as he unlocks his front door. Erik loves this beautiful boy so much, and if Christine were here right now, he’d probably break her neck for causing Raoul’s tears. For a brief moment, he thinks of buying Raoul a gift, but he pushes the thought aside. All he really wants is for Raoul not to be alone this Christmas.

Erik doesn’t want to be alone either.

The next morning, Raoul wanders barefoot into the living room, still in his pyjamas, nursing a mug of tea. Erik lets himself in through the back window again.

Raoul screams as Erik touches his shoulder, and whimpers as the knife is pressed to his throat, forcing him backwards until he’s against the wall.

 

 


End file.
